Her white cane struck against the stones as she walked carefully through the darkened streets that led to her home. She had gotten late and she knew it wasn't safe for her to be out in the city at night for there was no knowing what evil was waiting in the alleys for a prey.

The slight pattering of raindrops had started and she felt the drops glide down her skin, her head arching up to the sky momentarily. She knew she had to be twice more cautious because puddles would form due to the rain which she should avoid in order to prevent any risk to herself.

Evelyn always took the disconnected routes to her place instead of the main city streets because the traffic and the incomprehensible glare of lights made her anxious. For her, every place in Gotham reeked of danger be it the alleys she was walking through or the central square or even the parks.

But she had always managed to look past her fears and deal with life the best she could.

Keeping her other senses sharp, she cautiously walked through the alley, the countdown of her own steps resonating in her head. But all of a sudden she tensed, feeling the movement behind her.

Her grip on her cane tightened and a shiver went down her spine but she did not slow her pace down, in fact her steps quickened wanting to reach the destination as soon as possible. The count she was keeping in her head got disrupted when she felt that she wasn't alone in fact there were more than two other people who seemed to be following her.

The footsteps edged closer and her heart sank as various terrifying thoughts of what could happen to her just then swam inside her. A hand snaked round her waist and she spun around quickly, her cane hitting the person behind her straight in the eye.

A howl of pain escaped him as he let go of her but she knew well that he wasn't the only one in the alley. Her cane had been snatched from her and the snap sounding shortly afterwards indicated that it had been broken. 

Evelyn stumbled back and broke into a run desperately, not knowing whether she would bump into anything on the way or not, for her mind had blacked out and she couldn't even recall where she was exactly.

All she could think of was to somehow get away from the men who had ganged up on her. But luck wasn't with her as she slipped in a puddle, falling face first on the ground. Laughter pierced the stillness of the atmosphere, sending shivers up and down her frail body as she tried to get up.

And even though she couldn't see the men, she could feel their presence and she knew she couldn't escape. One of them held her wrists as she was yanked up roughly, another tried to stop her thrashing form and the third had clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling her screams.

"All we wanted was to have fun with you, darling," a raspy voice sounded as the man who had been hit in the eye spoke up, "but what you did deserves punishment instead."

Her eyes were wide in fear yet devoid of any light as she struggled to break free from their grip but one against four wasn't a very fair situation.

They had held her hands at her back, a man gripping her delicate wrists forcefully and holding her against him so that she wouldn't escape. While the others seemed to be rather amused by the whole situation, aiming to take turns in breaking her like a precarious little glass doll.

She writhed against him, a scream for help ripping apart from her but the cries died down immediately as she felt the sharp edge of a switchblade graze against her throat.

"If you scream, I'll cut through."

A tear rolled down her cheek and her breath hitched in her throat as the blade pressed slightly, drops of red tainting the pale white skin as a thin cut was left in its wake.

"Let me go... Please..."

But the blade trailed down cutting through her blouse and tears poured from her eyes ceaselessly knowing that she was utterly helpless in such a state. She could not push away the hands that roamed over her body and each time a cry escaped her, the knife would graze against her skin leaving a trail of blood.

Three gunshots sounded and she froze in horror, the grip on her slackened and she fell forward as the man holding her let go of her and tried to dash away. But the fourth gunshot rang through the alley and the thud sounding soon afterwards marked his demise as well.

***

Red Hood had taken aim and shot all four of them one by one, the bullets piercing fatally through each of them marking an inevitable death. The girl they had been abusing fell to the ground; she was shaking in fear, her hands covered in blood that she furiously wiped away and the puddle around her feet had turned red. 

"Are you alright?" He had placed the gun back in his holster as he slowly edged forward, kicking away the bleeding body out of the away. She had retreated in terror so he spoke in a softer tone though he knew his voice would be muffled and robotic due to the helmet he was wearing, "please calm down, I mean you no harm."

She had a vague idea that there were probably four dead bodies in the alley at the moment and the person talking to her had definitely been the one who had shot all four. "Let me go..."

Her voice was reduced to a terror stricken whisper and her frail body was shivering from both the fear and the cold. He took off his jacket, bending down as he gently placed it over her, covering her up. And it was then he noticed the blankness in her eyes and as his vision focused, he got a terrible shock.

Her face was unnervingly familiar and for a second, he racked his memory to recall why it felt as if he had known her in the past and then realization struck him akin to a severe blow.

She was none other than Evelyn Nichols, his childhood friend.

"Evelyn..." The name escaped him and she heard him quite clear for her trembling ceased eventually as she came to the realization that the person in front of her probably knew her though she couldn't recognize his voice.

"Who are you... And... And... Those men... What have you done..."

He recovered from the shock of seeing her as such and replied, "Red Hood. And those men got what they deserved."

"I... I have to go home," her voice was breaking, "my cane..."

"It's broken." 

Her void eyes were boring into his soul and he wanted to reach out to her but refrained to touch her knowing that she was traumatized and he didn't want to terrify her further.

"Ma'am, I can take you to your place if you direct me," he added taking care to be very cautious around her, "I assure you that I mean you no harm." 

"You... You knew my name..." Her hands however hugged his jacket closer to herself in attempts to keep out the cold, "how do you know me?"

He considered what to say to her but then replied vaguely, "I... I'm a friend."

"A friend..." She had stood up but stumbled so he took her hand and though she had flinched at first, when he remained still as if waiting for her to settle down, her fingers closed on to his hand as well.

"Where do you live?"

"East End, lane fifteen... I don't even know where I am now..."

"It's not far," he walked slowly to match her pace, allowing her to use him as a guide for without her cane she was having much difficulty in navigating herself.

But as they walked together and Evelyn's terrified senses started to come back to normal, she felt as if she knew that mysterious person too despite the unrecognizable robotic voice.

And as her hand fit into his palm, one impossible thought flickered across her head that shook her and she halted. Red Hood stopped as well, looking around to see what was wrong and caught the expression of disbelief and uncertainty on her features.

"Do I know you too?" She asked in a low whisper as if unsure of her own words.

"No," his reply was firm.

But the grip on his hand tightened and she tilted her head almost as if she was looking straight into his eyes in spite of the helmet covering his head and obscuring his face from view. Though even if the helmet wasn't there she could not have possibly seen his features.

The word that passed her lips then sent him into a slight shock, "Jason..."

He kept silent not knowing how to respond to her but it seemed as if she had sensed who he was and with every passing second she was getting sure of her assumption.

"Jason... You're... Alive?"

He decided that it was no use hiding it from her, since she had always seemed to know about him as if she could sense him and differentiate him easily from the rest of the people.

Therefore he took off his helmet, tucking it under his arm so that his voice won't be muffled anymore and spoke, "let me get you home first, Eve."

Hearing his voice after five long years, she was so shocked that she swayed and he had to hold her so that she wouldn't fall. "Jay..."

Tears ran down her face as the memories hit her with full force, the disbelief gnawing at her and at the same time the shock of finding him alive making her feel quite at a loss of what to say or do.

"You're real? I'm not... I'm not dreaming...? Jason..."

Knowing that she was in a state of shock and disbelief, he gently gathered her in his arms and she dissolved into his embrace, shaking from the sobs that were choking her from the inside.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, fingers gently running through her hair as he held her close, trying to soothe her, "Evelyn, I'm so terribly sorry."

He noticed that her trembling had ceased and she had softened against him, her head resting on his chest as if listening to his heartbeat in order to convince herself that he was no ghost.

As no response came from her but she held tightly on to him, he spoke softly knowing that if they stayed in the crime spot any longer they could risk being caught and linked to the four murders, "let's get you home first. I promise I'll explain everything."

Her footsteps were unsteady so she let him scoop her up in his arms after wearing the helmet back. She had nestled her head in his neck inhaling his scent that she had almost forgotten, eyes dropping shut out of pain and fatigue.

"You're not going to leave me again, are you?" Evelyn's voice was muted yet breaking and it pierced through his heart.

"No," he replied back for at that moment he couldn't bring himself to say anything else to her, "I'm here now."

A deep sigh of relief escaped her and her features relaxed at last.

He had stepped into lane fifteen and similar looking small houses started.

"We're in lane fifteen, East End."

"Third house with a wreath on the door. The keys are in the flower pot on the steps."

He spotted the door she had mentioned and gently put her down to her feet, one arm still wrapped around her waist as he bent down to retrieve the keys and unlocked the door, "there."

"Thank you... For everything..."

She was leaning against him for support and he stepped in along with her, carefully locking the door behind them. His concerned gaze was lingering on the cuts she had received in the incident.

He had never thought he would meet her again and certainly not in such a horrible state. But all that mattered was that he had found her and couldn't bear to lose her again, no matter what happened.

He had done that mistake once and suffered and under no circumstances could he let the past repeat itself.

***